Chapter 10 -- Personality Assessment and Behavioral Assessment

I. Multimethod Assessment
A. Consistencies in behaving, emoting, socializing, and thinking
B. Types of Methods
1. Objective tests (Standard questions with fixed responses)
2. Projective tests (Unstructured stimuli with free responses)
3. Behavioral observations
4. Interview data from client and others
5. Client records and medical tests

II. Objective Personality Tests
A. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) (567 items)
1. Ten Clinical Scales (Depression, Paranoia, Hysteria, Psychasthenia, etc.)
2. Four Validity Scales (Cannot Say, Lie, Infrequency, and Defensiveness)
3. Empirical keying (items for diagnostic groups)
4. Measure is not based on theory, outdated terms, true-false responses

B. Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) (344 items)
1. 11 Clinical scales (anxiety, depression, mania, antisocial, etc.) and 2 interpersonal scales
2. Four validity scales (inconsistency, negative and positive impression, and infrequency)
3. Conceptually derived with 4 choices per item
4. 160 item short scale

D. Advantages
1. Economical (many can take the test)
2. Objective scoring
3. Reliable
4. Standard interpretation

E. Disadvantages
1. Minimal focus on motives
2. Total scores may obscure important dimensions
3. Often easy to fake responses
4. Tests may be overused to make decisions about employment where there is questionable validity

III. Projective Personality Tests
A. Ask for responses to ambiguous stimuli so that clients will project aspects of their personalities onto the stimuli to make sense of them
B. Association (Rorschach Inkblot Test)
C. Construction (TAT, Draw-a-Person Test)
D. Completion (Sentence Completion Tests)
E. Expression (Handwriting analysis)
F. Tests have insufficient reliability and validity

IV. Goals of Behavioral Assessment
A. Identify and Definee Problem Behaviors (Operational Definitions and Measures)
B. Functional Analysis of Behavior examines patterns before, during, and after behavior
C. Design Treatment based on the Behavioral Assessment
(Change cues, models, reinforcers, support)
D. Evaluate Treatment Effectiveness (Compare baseline and intervention periods, try to change quantity, frequency, duration, or quality of behaviors)

V. Characteristics of Behavioral Assessment
A. Observable behavior more important than traits
B. Examine environment for antecedents (before) and consequences (after) of behaviors
C. Assessment is relatively continuous (before, during, and after the target behavior occurs)

VI. Methods of Behavioral Assessment
A. Behavioral Interviewing
B. Behavioral Observation
C. Self-Monitoring
D. Rating Scales
E. Psychophysiological Assessment (heart rate)

VII. Behavioral Assessment of Anxiety
A. Structured diagnostic interview with DSM-5 criteria
B. Questionnaires such as the Beck Anxiety Inventory
C. Self-Monitoring to assess frequency, intensity, and context
D. Behavioral measures of avoidance
E. Psychophysiological measures of skin conductance from sweating and heart rate

VIII. Components of a Report
A. Referral question
B. Developmental history
C. Assessment procedures and measures
D. Summary of findings
1. Cognitive
2. Behavioral
3. Emotional
E. Diagnoses
F. Recommendations